--- title: Coronavirus Treatment Beings Human Trials in China description: Remdesivir, a new antiviral drug by Gilead Sciences, will be tested for efficacy in treating the coronavirus. canonical: https://time.com/5776682/coronavirus-drug/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-02-03T08:25:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:21.469Z article:section: Health og:title: Doctors in China Are Starting Human Trials for a Coronavirus Treatment og:description: The coronavirus so far has no specific treatments or vaccines og:url: https://time.com/5776682/coronavirus-drug/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt282a4b73c0baee4d/698a09b1457a526485d637cc/Wuhan-hospital.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Doctors in China Are Starting Human Trials for a Coronavirus Treatment twitter:description: The coronavirus so far has no specific treatments or vaccines twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt282a4b73c0baee4d/698a09b1457a526485d637cc/Wuhan-hospital.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:16 video:published: 2020-01-31 section: health topics: coronavirus vaccine, mRNA vaccine technology, Moderna Therapeutics, National Institutes of Health, viral sequencing, vaccine production scaling, pandemic preparedness, clinical trials, animal-to-human disease transmission genre: news, explainer tones: urgent, informative, hopeful, measured emotions: urgency (high), hope (medium), concern (medium) sentiment: neutral audience: general news audience, health-interested readers, science enthusiasts, policymakers people: Moderna scientist (unnamed), interviewer (unnamed) organizations: Moderna Therapeutics, National Institutes of Health, Vaccines Research Center at NIH, Chinese government products: coronavirus vaccine, mRNA vaccine content_suitability: health controversy [00:00-02:16] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Doctors in China Are Starting Human Trials for a Coronavirus Treatment > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=ff9a20ee-b5fb-480a-b800-99657d09af3f&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Racing To Make A Coronavirus Vaccine [Watch (HLS stream): Racing To Make A Coronavirus Vaccine](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DC80edSm.m3u8) (2:16)  _Published 2020-01-31. Scientists at Moderna Theraputics and the NIH are racing to create the world's first coronavirus vaccine in record time._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Scientists at Moderna Therapeutics and the National Institutes of Health are racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine after the virus was sequenced and shared. The video explains that Moderna uses mRNA to produce the target protein instead of growing large amounts of the virus, as traditional methods require. The team aims to reach human clinical study within three months and discusses scaling production to thousands or millions of doses. The speakers also note that similar fast vaccine development may be needed for future pandemics. ## Key points - The novel coronavirus was identified and its sequence shared with the world after the Chinese government sequenced the virus less than a month earlier. (00:17) - Moderna and NIH's Vaccines Research Center downloaded the sequence data and began identifying key surface proteins that a vaccine could target. (00:28) - The team aims to get the vaccine into humans and a clinical study within three months. (00:28) - Moderna is producing mRNA that makes the protein intended to form the basis of the coronavirus vaccine. (00:44) - Traditional vaccine methods are effective but time-consuming because they require growing large amounts of the virus. (00:55) - Moderna's approach uses viral mRNA, a piece of genetic material that produces proteins, to shorten the vaccine development process. (00:55) - The company believes it can scale quickly to produce thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of doses if the vaccine proves effective. (01:39) - The speakers expect future pandemic threats to emerge from animals into humans and believe the vaccine may be the only tool to arrest transmission. (01:58) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:17] Coronavirus outbreak and vaccine race. The outbreak is introduced and scientists at Moderna and NIH are described as racing to produce a vaccine. - [00:17 to 00:44] Sequencing and identifying vaccine targets. The process of obtaining the virus sequence and identifying surface proteins for vaccine development is explained. - [00:44 to 01:17] How mRNA vaccine production works. Moderna's mRNA approach is contrasted with traditional vaccine methods and the role of proteins is described. - [01:17 to 01:39] Tight deadline and production plans. The interviewer and guest discuss the deadline and preparations to scale doses, including for a hot spot like Wuhan. - [01:39 to 02:16] Future pandemic preparedness. The speakers discuss scaling to millions of doses and expect similar rapid vaccine efforts for future animal-to-human threats. ## Key quotes - [00:06] interviewer: "scientists at Moderna Therapeutics and the National Institutes of Health are rushing to produce the world's first coronavirus vaccine in record time." - [00:28] Moderna scientist: "And we're racing forward to try and get it into humans and a clinical study within three months." - [00:55] interviewer: "Traditional ways of making vaccines although effective are time and cumbersome because you have to grow large amounts of the virus" - [01:39] Moderna scientist: "We believe we can scale very fast if that is needed." - [01:58] Moderna scientist: "It might be the only tool we have to really arrest that transmission." ## Questions this video answers - Why are scientists racing to produce a coronavirus vaccine? [00:06] - What is the first step after a new virus is identified? [00:17] - How is Moderna's vaccine approach different from traditional vaccine methods? [00:55] - What is mRNA and what does it do in these vaccines? [00:55] - How quickly could the vaccine be scaled up to produce doses? [01:39] - Could this approach be used for future pandemics? [01:58] ## Content suitability - health controversy [00:00-02:16]: Discussion of a new outbreak and a potential pandemic threat; no graphic content, but the subject matter is a public health emergency. by [Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Bloomberg Contributor Feb 3, 2020 8:25 AM UTC  This photo taken on January 30, 2020 shows medical staff members wearing facemasks talking at a hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province, during the virus outbreak in the city. - The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported January 31 the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections. This photo taken on January 30, 2020 shows medical staff members wearing facemasks talking at a hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province, during the virus outbreak in the city. - The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported January 31 the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections. STR/AFP/Getty Images by [Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Bloomberg Contributor Feb 3, 2020 8:25 AM UTC China has kick-started a clinical trial to [speedily test](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-19/china-drug-regulator-transforms-to-world-s-fastest-within-months) a drug for the novel coronavirus infection as the nation rushes therapies for those afflicted and scours for vaccines to protect the rest. Remdesivir, a new antiviral drug by Gilead Sciences Inc. aimed at infectious diseases such Ebola and SARS, will be tested by a medical team from Beijing-based China-Japan Friendship Hospital for efficacy in treating the deadly new strain of coronavirus, a hospital spokeswoman told Bloomberg News Monday. Trial for the drug will be conducted in the central Chinese city of Wuhan — ground zero of the [viral outbreak](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-02/china-vows-to-support-market-u-s-limits-flights-virus-update) that has so far killed more than 360 people, sickened over 17,000 in China and spread to more than a dozen nations. As many as 270 patients with mild and moderate pneumonia caused by the virus will be recruited in a randomized, double-blinded and placebo-controlled study, Chinese news outlet The Paper [reported](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail%5Fforward%5F5738101?from=singlemessage) on Sunday. _Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter by clicking_ [_on this link_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/coronavirus?source=article)_, and please send any tips, leads, and stories to_ [_virus@time.com_](mailto:virus@time.com)_._ Drugmakers such as GlaxoSmithKline Plc. as well as Chinese authorities are racing to crash develop vaccines and therapies to combat the new virus that’s more contagious than SARS and could cost the global economy [four times more](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-30/economist-who-said-sars-cost-40-billion-sees-bigger-hit-now) than the $40 billion sapped by the 2003 SARS outbreak. The decision to hold human trials for remdesivir shows it’s among the most promising therapies against the virus that so far has no specific treatments or vaccines. ### Experimental Drug The experimental drug has not yet been approved for use by any drug regulator in the world but is being used on patients battling the new virus in the absence of approved treatment options, Gilead said in a [statement](https://www.gilead.com/news-and-press/company-statements/gilead-sciences-statement-on-the-company-ongoing-response-to-the-2019-new-coronavirus) last week. China’s health regulator has also [recommended](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-26/china-names-abbvie-s-hiv-drugs-in-treatment-plan-for-new-virus) AbbVie Inc’s HIV medicine Kaletra as an ad-hoc antiviral drug for coronovirus. Kaletra is also set to undergo human trials, according to The Paper. Meanwhile, a global search continues for therapies to contain the infection that can [spread undetected](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-29/10-year-old-boy-raises-fears-wuhan-virus-could-spread-undetected). Johnson & Johnson has initiated work on a preventive coronavirus vaccine and has “dozens of scientists” working on it, its Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels said last month. GlaxoSmithKline and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said Monday they will work to [accelerate the creation](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-03/vaccine-giant-glaxo-joins-global-race-to-combat-coronavirus) of a vaccine and then provide the doses rapidly. [Drugmakers Hunt for Ways to Halt Virus That Eludes Travel Curbs](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-27/drugmakers-hunt-for-ways-to-halt-virus-that-eludes-travel-curbs) The Coalition, set up in 2017 to spur the development of shots for known diseases and to respond to new viruses, has also [signed contracts](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-27/drugmakers-hunt-for-ways-to-halt-virus-that-eludes-travel-curbs) with drugmakers including Moderna Inc. and Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. as early as Jan. 22 to expedite work on vaccines. Novavax Inc. was among the first ones to announce it was working on a candidate too. ### Frontline Treatment Health officials, however, say a vaccine version may take three months to be available for the first stages of human testing while developing an effective vaccine generally takes years. That puts remdesivir on the front lines of combating the infection. The first patient in the U.S. infected with the virus, a 35-year-old man, has seen his pneumonia improve after he was given remdesivir, doctors treating him said in a [study](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001191?query=featured%5Fhome) published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week. The trial in China could lead to a fast-track approval of remdesivir by the Chinese drug regulator, which in some cases has been the [fastest in the world](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-19/china-drug-regulator-transforms-to-world-s-fastest-within-months). China’s drug law now allows conditional approval for drugs with clinical data demonstrating efficacy against aliments that are life-threatening and have no existing therapies. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5776682/coronavirus-drug/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5776682/coronavirus-drug/"},"headline":"Doctors in China Are Starting Human Trials for a Coronavirus Treatment","datePublished":"2020-02-03T08:25:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:52:21.469Z","description":"The coronavirus so far has no specific treatments or vaccines","url":"https://time.com/5776682/coronavirus-drug/","keywords":["COVID-19","Bloomberg","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt282a4b73c0baee4d/698a09b1457a526485d637cc/Wuhan-hospital.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Bloomberg","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/bloomberg/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt282a4b73c0baee4d/698a09b1457a526485d637cc/Wuhan-hospital.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS","caption":"CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS","creditText":"STR/AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5776682/coronavirus-drug/","name":"Doctors in China Are Starting Human Trials for a Coronavirus Treatment"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Racing To Make A Coronavirus Vaccine","description":"Scientists at Moderna Theraputics and the NIH are racing to create the world's first coronavirus vaccine in record time.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/DC80edSm/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2020-01-31T23:05:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DC80edSm.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5776682/coronavirus-drug/","duration":"PT2M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5776682/coronavirus-drug/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```